The morning after, Rice-UH

Quick programming note — the Ben Braun Radio Show makes its 2010 debut on Thursday, Jan. 14, from 7-7:30 p.m., live from Edloe Street Cafe and Deli. It will be broadcast again on ESPN 97.5, and David Saltzman, the Owls play-by-play announcer, will be the host.

And now on to last night’s game. I wasn’t terribly surprised by the outcome. Hey, a lot of teams are going to get swept up in doing what Houston does, which is essentially a) get out in transition whenever possible but failing that b) jack up three-pointers. Thing is, as TCU assistant Eric Haut told me hours before the game, they have the type of athletic players who can actually make those sort of plays.

Right now, Rice does not.

That, to me, is what the game came down to. Oh, you can talk about the post play, but really, that wasn’t a surprise to me, either. Someone took me to task earlier in the season when I questioned where the team’s post play would come from, and after last night, I ask the question again. Once Arsalan starts finishing, look out. But he can’t do it all.

I like that Tamir Jackson plays with such a swagger. That’s just what this team needs — an on-court toughness that is visible. But his body language when things go awry — I get the sense that those antics are counterproductive to running a team. Now, he’s just a freshman, and he’s clearly a natural leader, so he’ll outgrow some of those things. But his frustration last night was obvious.

The blueprint to beat the Owls is there, as Haut outlined — pound it inside earlier, to see if the bigs can handle the barrage. If so, attack from the outside. Thing is, the Cougars just reversed the strategy, but the formula still worked. I’m not certain Rice, right now, has enough firepower to compensate, but it’s not all gloom and doom, either. Getting more from Trey Stanton (never heard that before, huh?) and Lucas Kuipers is a good place to start, but you already knew that.

Still, the Owls play hard, but the margin for error is tiny. And it’s been my experience that when that old nugget is dusted off and trotted out, it usually means it’s going to be a long season for the team in question. Let’s see how Rice responds Saturday at UCF…